Giant bluefin tuna sells for $396,000.00

A massive 342-kilogram bluefin tuna caught off the coast of Hokkaido in northern Japan fetched a record 32.49 million yen (about $396,000) at the start of the first business day of 2011 in the famous Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. This translates to a whopping 95,000 yen ($1,157) per kilogram of fish meat. Or about 1 gram of tuna on a 100-yen sushi sold in the popular conveyor-belt sushi restaurants in Japan.

The catch will be split by the high-end Kyubei restaurant in Tokyo and Hongkong-based Itamae Sushi chain.

The previous record holder was a 202-kilogram fish sold for 20.2 million yen way back in 2001, when prices were much more reasonable than in these recession-infested times.